Switch It Up
by Lily and her tramps
Summary: Ingrid Witch has always been a bit jealous of her best friend, Greta. Greta can walk into the village nearby and children don't run from her. Greta can go on dates with boys who aren't afraid she might eat them. Greta can get a happily ever after. But at their new school, now Ingrid gets those things instead. But in the end, are they worth it? T because I'm careful.
1. Chapter 1

When they were little, things were much easier. Ingrid had Greta, and Greta had Ingrid. No one ever told them that Ingrid's mother was the Wicked Witch, and no one ever told them that Greta's mother and uncle baked Ingrid's mother alive in her own oven. Ingrid was just told her mother was gone, and Greta was just told that her mom just wasn't good at baking.

When they were six, Greta wandered up to the forrest on the hill. Her mother didn't want her or her brother, Hans, going in, but Greta was too curious not to. She traveled so far into the forrest that she couldn't find her way out, and so she kept walking. When the sun shone directly over the leaves above her, Greta walked with tired limbs into a clearing, where a house the likes of which she had never seen was being eaten by a lean child with blonde hair. Green streaks shimmered in the unruly mess, and at first Greta had thought they were just the sun shining through the leaves. The child turned away from the house with crumbs on its puffed-out cheeks.

"Auwhoa," they said before swallowing down hard the gingerbread in their mouth. "I'm Ingrid." Ingrid stuck out a sticky hand before taking it back to wipe it on her dress. "Who are you?"

"I'm Greta, I live outside of the forest. What about you?"

"I live in the gingerbread house." Greta gave her a confused look.

"But, why would you eat your own house?" Ingrid giggled.

"'Cause it tastes good, why else?" She tore off an icing-covered corner and shoved it in her mouth, crumbs flying everywhere. "Beshid'sh, it wegen... repwu... comesh back." Greta looked at the hole in Ingrid's house and gasped as the hole grew closed. "Shee?" Greta nodded.

"Can I have some?" Ingrid swallowed hard again as she shook her head.

"No, papa says I'm the only one allowed." Greta pouted. "but maybe we can _make_ you cookies!"

"It's okay, I don't really like sweets. I'm just hungry."

"Well maybe papa can make you regular food. Let's ask!" The two six year old girls ran into the house together, and for ten years everywhere they ran, they ran together.

When they turned sixteen, both girls were enrolled in Ever After Highschool, a school to teach Fairytale characters to follow their destined rolls. Greta ran into the woods with her acceptance letter and found Ingrid climbing up her house to grab at the chocolate shingles. Ingrid latched onto a shingle with her nails and Greta hollered up at her to announce her arrival.

"I got in, Ingy!" Startled, Ingrid lost her footing and fell to the ground with a squawk. She pulled out a crumpled letter with the same stationary as Greta's.

"Me too!" They squealed and met up in a bouncing hug. "Ow! Ow," Ingrid said, stopping their hug to rub at her sore bottom. Greta laughed.

"That's what you get for trying to grab your shingles instead of just eating the walls like you usually do." Ingrid pouted and shoved the chocolate into her mouth. "Why the change?"

"Ah fewt wike shelebwating," she tried to say petulantly through puffed-out cheeks. Greta chuckled.

"C'mon, lets go buy some new clothes for school." Ingrid rose an eyebrow. "_And_ restock your candy stash." Ingrid grinned. "Why do you even need a stash, your whole _house_ is a candy stash!"

"It's mostly for giving to people." She took out a lollipop and in a flash of green magic she replicated it into six lollipops. Once they entered the nearby village she held out the lollipops to a group of nearby children. "Hello," she said with a smile. The children, who had been playing with a ball and laughing, dropped what they were doing and ran, screaming. Ingrid stuffed a lollipop in her mouth as tears gathered in her eyes. "Why do they always run...?" She slumped down on the ground, clutching her knees. Greta glared at the running childen, but she was too old to pick fights with kids anymore and so she simply knelt down by Ingrid and hugged her tightly.

"Don't worry, when we go to school, it'll be different," Greta said sweetly in an attempt to console her friend.

"No it _won't," _said Ingrid, "It'll be even _worse_. We both saw your brother Hans' letters, everybody's fighting at Ever After High, as soon as they know who we are the 'royals' will take you away and tell me I'm evil and they'll be your new friends and you'll hate me forever after!" Ingrid burst into tears, the lollipop in her mouth falling to the ground. Greta looked down at her acceptance letter, then at her friend.

"They won't hate you," she said carefully, "They'll hate Ingrid Witch."

"Yeah, and that's _me!"_ As Ingrid wailed, Greta gingerly took Ingrid's crumpled acceptance letter out of the pocket in her green skirt and placed her own in Ingrid's hand. Green eyes locked on brown as Ingrid went quiet. "No...no way..." Greta smiled and nodded. "No one would believe it! And besides, if you pretended to be me, you'd have to put up with all the things I have to deal with. I wouldn't wish that on _anyone,_ especially not my best friend!"

"Don't worry about me, Ingy. I'm a lot tougher than you, I can handle it." Ingrid sighed, feeling guilty.

"I won't lie, I'd really like to not have people look at me the way they do," she said in a hushed tone as she looked into the village, where the last few straggling children were being pulled inside as their parents locked the doors. A tear slid down her face and she turned back to her friend. "But, I can't in good conscience ask you to do this for me." Greta wrapped her arms around her friend in a warm hug.

"You don't have to, Ingrid." Ingrid gave her friend a weak smile.

"Thanks, Greta."

"No problem." Greta stood and held her hand out to her friend. "You're way too sweet to just leave to the wolves anyway." Ingrid took her friend's hand and they walked into town. "now, let's go buy you some candy so you can eat your feelings when we get got school," Greta joked. Ingrid stopped in her tracks, and Greta looked to her friend.

"No more regenerating candy house?" Greta chuckled at her friend's terrified expression.

"Nope, you have to leave it here so you dad can live in it." Ingrid's shoulders slumped.

"Aw, _man_..."

* * *

**AN: so, clearly I have two very serious issues:**

**1: I can't focus on more than one fic at a time.**

**2: I flit from fandom to fandom like a demented-ass butterfly.**

**3: I am 16 and obsessed with children's cartoons.****  
**

**There are no known cures for any of these severe, life-altering afflictions.**


	2. Chapter 2

"Hey, Grets?" Greta turned to her friend, her black and orange curls swaying around her face as the train to Ever After High rolled through a tunnel.

"I keep telling you, you have to stop calling me that, _Greta_."

"Okay, _Ingrid,_" Ingrid tucked a green and gold strand of hair behind her ear. "But aren't you nervous?"

"No, our plan is going to work. We're even roommates, so we won't have to worry about slipping up in front of a stranger when either of us is tired."

"Ah, no, I meant about your first day away from home?"

"Oh, not really. I mean, I really like the idea of getting away from that little village, and I'm going to get to see my brother a lot more-" Ingrid dropped the candy box she had held as she and Greta exchanged frightened looks.

"_This_ is going to be an epic fairy-fail." When the girls stepped through the gates of Ever After High, Hans was waiting for his sister, just as the girls had hopped.

"Hey, sis!" The taller boy spread his arms out wide to hug his sister. Ingrid looked to Greta worriedly and saw her nod quickly. Ingrid put on her best smile and ran to hug the brunet boy.

"Hello!" She smiled stunningly up at him, and the boy quickly turned red. When she let go, Greta quickly grabbed him by the collar of his blue button down shirt and dragged him away.

"Okay, new rule: no hitting on, dating, or kissing her. From now on, she's your little sister, Greta." Hans looked down at his sister like she was crazy. "Oh, and call me Ingrid."

"Wait, you mean the name of you imaginary friend from when we were little?" Greta rolled her eyes.

"You mean the name of the girl you just got a massive hug from? Why yes, that is her name." Hans stared over her shoulder at the emerald eyed girl behind her who was popping peppermints into her mouth. "But we're switching places, so you're gonna call her Greta and _not hit on her_, okay?" Hans nodded.

"But, can I at least talk to her?" He looked down at his sister. "I'm allowed to _talk_ to my _sister_, aren't I?" He smirked, and Greta punched him. "Owch!"

"Go show your _sister _around, idiot." Hans smiled and gestured for Ingrid to follow him.

"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone." Ingrid smiled up at him, an extra bounce in her step as she followed him towards the school. She turned to Greta, who was on her way to their dorm room.

"I'll see you in our room, Ingrid." Greta smiled at her friend, who had finally got their switched names right.

"You know it, Greta." As Ingrid walked into the school with Hans, the first thing she noticed was the tension.

On one side of the hallway stood a beautiful girl with long purple and black hair, her purple eyes full of laughter as she talked to a shorter, manic blue-haired girl. The blue-haired girl's watch rang until it broke, and she then pulled a tea set and table from her teacup-shaped hat. Ingrid giggled, and pointed them out to her 'brother'.

"Who are they?"

"The taller one is Raven Queen, the Evil Queen's daughter. Her friend is Madeline Hatter, the Mad Hatter's kid. They're two of the students that are rebelling against the Storybook of Legends, at they get a lot of crap from the other students here." Ingrid's brow furrowed as she felt a pang of sympathy. "If your life back home was anything like Greta said, you should probably stay away from them if you don't want to deal with any of that again." Ingrid guiltily shifted closer to Hans, and away from the Rebels. "Over there are the Royals," Hans pointed towards a group of girls in intricate dresses. "Their leader is Apple White, she can be nice, but she's pretty self-centered if you ask me. She and her friends are dead set in believing that the Rebels are not only going to fail to change their destinies, but that they're selfishly trying to ruin the Royals' happy endings." As Apple flipped her hair behind her and shot the rebels on the other side of the hall a glare. "They're mostly too absorbed in themselves to notice your switch, but you should watch out for Blondie Lockes, she's pretty nosey." As if on cue, a blonde girl in a yellow dress with blue spoons on it popped up with a mirror tablet.

"So Hans, who's your new friend?" Ingrid watched as Hans supressed his annoyance.

"She's my little sister, Greta. She just got accepted to Ever After High."

"So Greta," Blondie said, turning to Ingrid with an almost predatory look on her face, "What do you think of the Royals vs. Rebels conflict?"

"Um... I think-" Luckily, the bell for first period rang and Blondie rushed off in a huff over not getting a story. Ingrid looked down at Greta's schedule.

"Beast training and care. Who's that with, big brother?" She looked up at Hans, who sighed. _Okay, definitely can't have her calling me that._

"Can you just call me Hans? It'd sound kind of suspicious if you call me that constantly." She nodded. "And that's outside near the enchanted forrest." Once Hans walked her out to her class, he quickly ran inside to get to his own.

Ingrid walked up to a small group of people, who were surrounding a large bear with a blue waistcoat. Among the crowd was a green-eyes girl in glass slippers who sat conspicuously close to a boy with a half-shaved head and a green button-down shirt. Ingrid sat by a wooden girl in a purple dress, and waved with a small smile when she looked at her.

"Class, today we have a new student," the bear growled. He gestured with one paw for Ingrid to rise. "Why don't you introduce yourself to everyone?" Ingrid rose and shyly stuck her hands in her pockets.

"Um, my name is..." she quickly popped a caramel into her mouth and chewed. "My name is Greta."

* * *

**AN: Is the mixed-up name thing confusing yet? Oh just wait...(muwah ha ha!)**


	3. Chapter 3

Four periods later, Ingrid walked down to the Castleteria. It looked like a banquet hall to her, with it's tall windows and fancy drapes. She walked up to the counters full of food, and stood shocked at the options. _There's so much food, and so much without red meat!_ Ingrid looked over the wite meat and fish, salavating over her 'meat Monday' options. The back of her neck tingled and she turned around to see Apple White starring at her.

"Um...hello?" Ingrid quickly bit some red licorice and tried not to stare right at the blonde in her face.

"I, am Apple White. Who are you?"

"I'm Greta. It's, ah...nice to meet you?" She giggled and tossed her hair.

"I _know_. Now, Greta, who are you going to be sitting with for lunch?"

"Um... my brother, and Ingrid." Apple giggled.

"Of course you're not, silly! You're sitting with me, Greta!"

"Um, what? Why?"

"Oh, it's simple, really. We fairytale heroines have to stick together." Ingrid opened her mouth to protest, but quickly got cut off. "Now, fill up your tray and let's go!" Ingrid grabbed a chicken breast, salad, and a cup of milk. As she contemplated desserts, Apple grabbed her and whisked her away to a sparkling silver table full of girls in fancy dresses. Apple sat down and patted the seat next to her. Ingrid sat down next to her and Blondie, who sat across from her, shot her a quick glare. On Apple's other side, a beautiful girl with milky coffee skin slept peacefully with her pink sunglasses over her eyes.

"Apple, how come she gets to sit next to you? I've been asking to forever-after!"

"Because, Blondie, I want Greta to feel welcomed." Blondie huffed, but said nothing else. Apple turned to Ingrid. "Greta, this is Blondie, and next to her is Bo Peep. Now, Ashlynn Ella usually only sits inside when the weather's bad, but if she's inside she'll sit here, too. Oh, and on my other side is Briar, my fairy best friend forever-after."

"It's nice to meet you all," Ingrid said with a meek smile.

"Now Greta, do you usually eat, um, meat?" Apple pulled a face, and Ingrid's shoulders hunched.

"No, I usually just do on Mondays-"

"Okay good, then it'll be easy to break the habit! Eating that stuff's no good for your skin, y'know." Quickly Apple grabbed Blondie's fork and used it to fling Ingrid's chicken in to the trash can.

"Oh." Ingrid slumped down further, and turned to look for Greta. Already she missed her friend, the orange softness of her dresses meant comfort and safety. Ingrid realized she needed it desperately now that she had met these girls, whom Ingrid couldn't identify as friend or foe. They were just so..._ blurry._ Like the moral grey area everyone had at times, they seemed to dictate only the hardest choices' easy outs. _I thought being the heroine made people nice,_ she thought. As her heart filled with confusion, she spotted her friend and waved her over with a huge smile. Greta moved to the table, the confidence of her movements warming Ingrid's heart, filling her with the feeling of _alright_ she had missed since Apple grabbed her.

"Hey, Greta." Greta smirked cheekily, pleased endlessly that the act was working, and no one had noticed the switch. As she made to sit, Greta was stopped by a throat loudly clearing.

"Hello, who are _you_?" Bo-peep's eyebrow raised as she stared at Greta.

"She's my friend, Ingrid."

"Oh? What's your story, Ingrid," Apple asked.

"I'm from hers," she responded, placing a hand on Ingrid's shoulder. "I'm supposed to be the witch."

"Um,_ supposed to be?_"

"Yeah, but I don't want to be. So I won't be." All the Royals gasped, accept for Briar, who snorted awake and sat straight up.

"I think you should _go,_" said the sleepy princess. Greta huffed, but shook her head when Ingrid made to follow. Ingrid stared miserably at her meatless and dessertless lunch. _Yes,_ she thought, _I think I liked being on the outside better. _

On the other side of the Calsteteria, Greta looked back and saw how depressed her friend was. Ingrid had always had thin skin, always taken things to heart. _This will be good for her,_ Greta convinced herself, _the Royals will warm up to her, she's too sweet for them not to._ As Greta thought of her friend, she crashed into someone. On the offensive immediately, Greta's lips drew up into a sneer. The girl she bumped into looked up and smiled sheepishly from where she'd fallen. The sneer drops from Greta's face without her permission, and she blinks in confusion once, twice.

"Sorry about that," the girl on the floor says sheepishly. Greta held out her hand ti the girl, who took it and got up.

"It's okay, I ran into you."

"My name's Isabella. It's nice to meet you...?"

"Ingrid. My name's Ingrid. And it's nice to meet you, too."

"Um, would you maybe like to sit with my friends and I? I saw how the Royals went and cold-shouldered you like that, I figure maybe you'd need a different place to sit?" Usually, Greta would get annoyed at anyone who offered her anything out of pity, but for some reason she didn't think that was why this girl had offered.

"Why are you being so nice to me?" The girl shrugged with a small smile.

"You looked like you needed a friend." Greta looked over her shoulder, where Ingrid sat sadly. _I think she needs one more._

Greta sat down at a table stuffed full of people. On one side, a girl pulled a teacup filled to the brim and a teapot from her hat, crushed back-to-back with her was a laughing girl with deep purple and black hair. Next to them sat a nervous looking wooden girl who smiled at Greta when she sat down. By Isabella's side sat a girl with a dark red hood pulled over her head and a hamburger on her plate, and next to her sat a girl with pink hair and wings, who was trying to discreetly hide the hamburger from the eyes of the boy next to her, who looked sick when he saw it.

"Hey, how come the new girl can sit next to you, but there's no room for me?" Greta looked up to see a boy floating above the table with a smirk on his face. Greta jumped, but everyone else at the table reacted as if floating boys were the norm.

"Simple Peter," Isabella said jokingly, "you tickle." The floating boy, Peter, shrugged and kissed Isabella before floating down to sit by the puppet girl.

"Nice to meet you, Greta!" Greta's head whipped around and she glared at the girl with the teacup hat. "What?"

"Maddie, her name's Ingrid," Isabella said.

"Yeah, you got me confused with somebody else," Greta said darkly.

"Nope, the narrator just said it! You're Greta!"

"Would you just _shut it_," Greta hissed.

"There! Again! The narrator said it again!" Maddie bounced up and down in her seat, and Greta seriously contemplated punching the girl. "Hey!"

"Um," the purple-haired girl raised a finger. "Maybe the rest of us can get and explanation here?" Greta gave up on the charade, clearly this 'Maddie' character was going to make it nearly impossible.

"Look, I traded places with my friend, so if you don't mind, can you keep the whole 'I'm actually Greta, not Ingrid' thing on the down-low before it fairy-fails?!" Greta stopped hissing at Maddie and folded her arms over her chest, glaring at no one in particular.

"Okay." Greta looked up, only to find that everyone around her was looking at her with the same kind of earnest look she had only seen on Ingrid before.

"Sure," the wooden girl said.

"Yeah," the girl in the red hood nodded in silent agreement with Isabelle as Maddie over-exageratedly zipped her own lips shut. Greta smiled as the whole mad group round her agreed to keep her secret.

"My name's Raven," the girl with the purple hair said, "welcome to the Rebels."


	4. Chapter 4

The two classes Ingrid had after lunch, crownculus and geografairy, seemed like they would end up her least favorite. While that outlook probably had to do with how miserable she had felt during lunch, what with the fairytale heroines squealing and sniping about everything, Ingrid still couldn't stand even the idea of the two classes, which had nothing to do with magic or stories. Ingrid had always loved to listen to stories, especially the ones that weren't hers. Ingrid sat down in the back of the penultimate class and waited, her cheek resting on her fist.

As the rest of the students slowly trickled in, each fairytale sat down by their friends. The Royals were, thankfully, dead center and ignorant of Ingrid's position. As much as Ingrid had always _wanted _to be accepted and befriended, she had never known that having people like her took so much effort. It had felt so natural with Greta.

The last Fairytale to make it to class was a freckled prince who quickly stuttered out an apology and turned to a frog in a flustered _poof!_ The other fairytales groaned and rolled their eyes as if they had seen this particular spectacle a thousand times, but in her back corner, Ingrid laughed for the first time in what felt like far too long. Madame Maid Marian rolled her eyes and continued writing on the chalkboard without pause for the prince.

"Please find an empty seat and sit down, Hopper." The frog bowed as well as he could to the teacher without a hint of irony and proceeded to leap up the steps one by one, searching for an empty seat. The prince was, at best, a third of the way up the stairs, and Ingrid was almost certain he was sweating. Looking down at the rest of the packed lecture hall, Ingrid knew the poor frog would have to hop all the way up the stairs to find the only empty seat, the one by her. As innocuously as she could, Ingrid stepped lightly down the stairs until she reached the frog. Without a word she picked him up and cradled him in her hands as she rushed back to her seat. She placed him on the desk beside her and promptly stuffed a caramel into her mouth, just in case he tried to talk to her, or something else awkward like that.

"I thank you for your assistance, my fair friend. There is, admittedly, some difficulty in transporting myself when my limbs are so small in comparison to even one step of those stairs," the frog said. "I, am Hopper Croakington the second. Who might you be, fair maiden?" Ingrid stopped mid-chew to raise an eyebrow and swallow the large lump of candy in her mouth.

"Uh. My name's Greta. Hi." The frog bowed, the strange-looking action giving Ingrid a smile she refused to fight.

"Greetings, my fair friend. While I do not wish to impose upon you, I must ask that you do unto me one more act of kindness." The frog looked up in what looked, to Ingrid, like shame. Ingrid felt a pang of sympathy.

"What is it?"

"I require a kiss to regain my human form. I would be ever so grateful if you were to bestow it." Ingrid blinked, stunned. She shrugged.

"Whelp," she said and swooped down to peck the frog on his lips. In another _poof_ he was once again the freckled prince who had run into the room late, and before Madame Maid Marian could spot him sitting on a desk table he leapt down at sat in the chair next to Ingrid's. She expected an eloquent 'thank you' to spill out of the boy, but instead he blurted out:

"Your mouth tastes like candy." Automatically his hands flew up to his hair, his fingers tangling in the strands. He opened his mouth again, only to be cut off from whatever he had planned to say by a burst of laughter from Ingrid. As she covered her mouth and blushed when some of the nearby students shot her dirty looks for interrupting class, Hopper's hands pulled away from his hair and he smiled. Once Ingrid calmed down and wiped away all her tears from laughing too hard, she smiled back at Hopper.

"Do you want some?" Hopper's brow furrowed.

"Uh, 'some' what?"

"Candy." She held out a dainty hand, which cradled in it's palm a pristinely wrapped hard candy. He thanked her and took the candy, and as he looked over Ingrid properly for the first time, he couldn't stop the word _princess_ from popping into his mind. He wondered which fairytale she was from as he turned the candy over in his mouth for a moment.

"So, uh, are you a princess?" Ingrid cocked her head at the question, and considered telling Hopper the truth.

_"No, I'm the daughter of the Evil Witch from Hansel and Gretel." Hopper would stumble out of his chair and away, choking and spitting out the candy as quickly as he could. He likely wouldn't talk to me again._

"No, I'm Gretel's daughter." Hopper nodded and sucked on the hard candy contemplatively. _She's not even Royal. Bummer, I was way off._

"Oh yeah, I know your brother. He's pretty cool." Ingrid nodded, unsure of what else there was to say, but happy that there was a Royal who didn't seem to hate her pseudo-brother. Ingrid liked Hans, he seemed nice. Once the bell rang for the end of the period, Ingrid stuffed her notebook into her bag.

"Which class do you have next?"

"Geografairy with Professor Nimble. What about you?" Ingrid smiled.

"Same. Can you show me where the class is? I have no idea where I'm going."

"Sure." As Ingrid walked out of the classroom with Hopper, she decided that she actually liked her last two classes of the day. _Who knows,_ she thought, _maybe the royals really aren't so bad once you get to know them._


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: Okay, so I just found out that there are Ever After High ****_books_****, and that I'm probably making up characters that already exist. If you read the books and are looking at the characters I've made and going 'stfu go away', I'm really sorry! I'm going solely off of the webisodes! Please don't hate me! TnT**

* * *

"Hey, uh this is gonna sound dumb," Ingrid started, "but can I maybe sit with you and your friends at dinner?" Ingrid looked shyly up at her new friend, expecting the prince to say no.

"Huh? Why, don't you sit with Apple?" Ingrid crossed her arms, hugging herself tightly.

"Um, yeah, but they kinda threw away most of my lunch," she said, staring intently at her feet, "and you seem like you'd be more okay with me eating _whatever_ - and not just 'cause you might eat flies as a frog! - but you just seem a little more, accepting?" She shrugged. "I dunno."

"I'll ask Daring and Dexter, but I don't think they'd actually mind," Hopper said, his hand on the back of his neck as he looked over at his friends' table in the Castleteria. Ingrid wrapped her arms around his waist tight enough that Hopper's spine cracked.

"Thank you!"Hopper looked down at Ingrid, who was smiling up at him and decidedly not letting go. Hopper's hands stayed up in the air in the gesture of surrender as he worried about where he was supposed to put his hands, and did his spine just make that cracking noise again, and wasn't this hug a little long?

"_Umm-"_ In a puff of smoke the prince changed into a frog and dropped towards the floor. Ingrid quickly caught him, embarrassed that she had made her friend uncomfortable enough to turn into a frog. She laughed nervously.

"Sorry, my bad," she said before planting a kiss on her froggy friend's lips. In another _poof,_ Hopper regained his human form. The two of them laughed nervously.

"I'll just go ask the guys about you sitting with us..."

"Okay, cool." Ingrid waved at Hopper's retreating figure, then smacked herself on the forehead. _Note to self, tone down your freaking bear hugs._

When Hopper approached his friends, he was automatically at a loss for words. _Daring'll rib me about having a friend who's a girl, or say no 'cause she's not a princess, or they'll get all weird about her kissing me on the lips to turn me back to a human - it's not my fault, I just forgot to tell her she didn't have to in order to change me back!- even though she's just my friend and-_

_Poof!_ Hopper landed on the ground and adjusted his lopsided crown. He hopped up to the bench attached to the Castleteria table, then onto the table. Both Charming brothers gave him confused looks, having only seen him walk up to the table and randomly turn into a frog.

"Don't tell me you've fallen for me, Hopper," Daring joked charmingly.

"Decidedly _not_," Hopper replied, to the dismay of a few nearby fairytale heroines. "I was simply trepidatious in regards to requesting that my new friend be permitted to sit here."

"Oh. Well sure," Dexter said. "Who is he?"

"_She_ is Greta, the daughter of the fairytale heroine Gretel." Daring raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, so _that's _why you were worried about asking us, hmm?"

"Oh come on Daring, leave him alone," Dexter said, "this isn't the first time he's had a crush on someone outside of his fairytale, and you never bothered him about Briar."

"Why must you assume that I have romantic feelings for her? I do not!" Daring scoffed, and Dexter rolled his eyes with a smile. Cupid walked by their table, and took a quick longing glance at Dexter before Daring called her over.

"So Cupid, Hopper here seems to think he can fool Dex and I into thinking he doesn't like a certain girl, what do you think?" Cupid sat down across from Dexter and turned to Hopper.

"Hopper, why would you try to hide your crush on Briar? Everyone already knows about it."

"No, see this is a _different_ girl, Cupid," Dexter said. Cupid clapped excitedly.

"Oh, I can't wait to meet her! Who is she? Is it serious?"

"Excuse me, I would appreciate it if my friends could perhaps stop making such wild allegations in regard to my relationship with Greta," Hopper said testily.

"Oh! Greta, I heard about her from Ingrid," Cupid sighed inwardly, relieved that she had gotten the switched names right. "She seems like such a sweetie!" Cupid turned to Hopper. "So, are you going to ask her out?"

"Certainly not," Hopper cried out indignantly.

"We think he already has," Daring said conspiratorially. Cupid squealed, bouncing in her seat.

"Oh, it's so hexellent that there's another happy couple on campus!"

"We are _not. Dating!"_ If Hopper wasn't still a frog, he was certain he would have turned into one by then. He turned away from his friends and saw Ingrid approaching. "Would you three be so kind as to stop this speculation?" Cupid turned and saw the shy girl approaching. She smiled and picked up Hopper.

"Hi Greta, my name's Cupid," She said cheerily, "Hopper's told us all about you." The winged girl held the frog prince up to Ingrid.

"Oh dear," Ingrid said. Quickly, Ingrid placed her dinner tray on the table and scooped Hopper up into her palms. She placed a kiss on his lips before sitting down next to Cupid.

"It's nice to meet you," Ingrid said as Cupid and the two Charming brothers exchanged a vindicated look.

"So, I couldn't help noticing that you kissed Hopper on his _lips,_" Daring said, smirking. "Is that a usual occurrence?" Ingrid looked at Hopper, who had head-desked as soon as Daring asked, and turned back to the blond prince.

"What, isn't that how you turn him back?"

"Well, it's certainly one way to do it." Ingrid stared back blankly, not understanding why the other fairytales were laughing.

"You only have to kiss me to turn me back," said Hopper, still with his head on the table. "It doesn't have to be on the lips."

"Oh," Ingrid put her hand over her mouth, which rounded into a perfect circle in surprise. "Well that's kinda embarrassing! Sorry, Hopper!" She then broke out into laughter, which everyone joined in with except Hopper, who kept his head firmly on the table as he simply grumbled, ''S fine'.

As Ingrid continued to laugh and eat with the princes and Cupid, she decided that no, the Royals were certainly not all bad.

* * *

**AN: Writing human Hopper is hard, he has almost no lines in the webisodes. He seems like a really nervous person, so I tried to write him that way while not constantly so flustered that he frogs out. Tell me if I did well or poorly, and how I can improve!**


	6. Chapter 6

**AN: sorry it's been a while, guys! If you read Punky's Log, then you know there was some real s**t going on in real life. However, I also got writer's blockage on this story after writing this chapter, which I didn't post until finishing the next chapter.**

* * *

At the rebel table on the other side of the vast room, Madeline Hatter giggled along with Ingrid, Cupid, and the Charmings. Raven shot her friend a confused look and smiled fondly.

"The narrators said something funny?"

"Sorta," Maddie said, "though it's probably not fairy funny for poor Hopper." Raven leaned back to look across the room at the prince.

"Why, is he okay?" Maddie nodded.

"Mm hm! Just a bit behassled about matters of the heart." Raven chuckled.

"Briar rejected him again?" Maddie cocked her head.

"No, I don't think so..." Maddie listened as the narrator described Ingrid's friendly interactions with her four table mates in a lovely and fascinatingly descriptive way. Maddie giggled. "Oh come on narrator, no one likes a braggart." Maddie wagged her finger in joking disapproval as she smiled up at the disembodied voice. Maddie turned to Greta.

"_Sooo_, does 'Greta' have a boyfriend back home?" Greta choked on her grape juice.

"_What? _No, definitely not. All the guys back home, ah...weren't her biggest fans," Greta said, wondering how she could explain tactfully that the idiots back home were too afraid that Ingrid would try to eat them. Maddie nodded with a mischievous smirk.

"Well, I think it's safe to say that's not a problem _here_." Greta's brow furrowed and she turned towards the sound of Ingrid's laughter. The other rebels all leaned at odd angles to see past their friends and watched as Hopper turned back into a frog. Maddie's eyebrows rose. "Wow, he's already turned into a frog three times now." Are you counting the time when Ingrid hugged him? "Oh, right! Four then." Cerise's eyebrow raised.

"Really? That's a lot even for him, and he has his foot in his mouth half the time." Across the room, Ingrid picked up the frog prince and kissed him, this time on his cheek. Greta awkwardly climbed out of the sandwich of rebel students, fuming.

"That's it, I'm having frog legs for dinner." If Hunter had sat with the rebels he likely would have thrown up or fainted, but seeing as he was having dinner in the enchanted forest, Greta's remark only resulted in an outbreak of queasy discomfort. Isabella quickly stood up and blocked her path.

"Okay, calm down Greta. Hopper _has_ to get kissed to turn human again, it doesn't mean anything!" Greta glared past Belle's daughter at the freckled prince sitting next to her friend.

"I know that," she said through gritted teeth, "that's why I'm mad."

"Um... can you explain that," Cedar asked, "because that is honestly fairy confusing." Greta sighed.

"Look, she's never kissed a guy before." Greta threw her hands into the air. "Hex, she's never even _liked_ a guy that way before! She's never had the chance to!" Greta slumped back down in her seat. "If this messes her up," she said petulantly, "if _he_ messes her up, I just," she sighed. "I just don't want that to happen." Isabella put her hand on Greta's shoulder.

"Well, I don't think there's any reason to worry," she said. "If anything, Hopper's the one likely to get messed up over her, if his track record is anything to go by."

"Besides," Peter added, "If she really needed to get away from him all she'd have to do is get him flustered and walk a flight of stairs." The girls all chuckled, and Isabella shot him a look. "Oh come on, tell me I'm wrong."

After everyone had finished eating their dinner, Ingrid made her way to the dorm room she shared with Greta. When she went inside, her bags were already by her bed and Greta, who had stopped by their room before class, had already set up her side of the room. Greta looked up from her mirror phone when she heard the door open.

"Hey Ingrid," she said, "how was your day?"

"It was pretty good," Ingrid said with a smile. "I made a few new friends, and that's always nice. Y'know, the royals aren't all bad people when you get to know them." She giggled. "Some of 'em are actually pretty funny." Greta glowered at the frozen image on her mirror phone.

"Yeah, sure." Ingrid unzipped a large suitcase and promptly pulled out a gallon-sized sandwich bag stuffed full of candy and placed it on top of her bedside table. "Wow, are you sure there's enough candy in there," Greta asked jokingly. Ingrid gave her bag and appraising look.

"Nope, I'll definitely need to copy some." Her eyes lit up and she turned to Greta. "Oh! If we go to Book End, can I stop by a candy store? I wanna see if the candy here is different from the candy back home." Greta nodded absently and pressed the play button on her phone's screen.

_"Today's Mirrorcast topic," _Blondie's voice said through the speakers of Greta's phone, _"Greta and Hopper: too close for comfort?" _Ingrid turned away from her candy bag and ran to see what Greta was watching.

"What?" Ingrid stared in shock as Blondie pulled up pictures of her and Hopper, as well as a video of Daring talking with Cupid about the two of them. Ingrid looked to Greta, who was staring at her, waiting silently for an explanation. Ingrid's cheeks warmed. "You don't actually believe this, do you? You know it's not true, right?" Greta shrugged. Ingrid's eyes went wide and teary, and before Greta could say anything, she ran from the room.

When Ingrid finally stopped running, she found herself on a balcony overlooking the Enchanted forrest. Ingrid sat on the edge, her legs hanging through two gaps between the small pillars holding up the handrail. She pulled the last piece of candy in her pockets, a lollipop, out and replicated it with the green mist of her magic before forlornly sticking one in her mouth. Ingrid stared at the faraway clouds, slowly turning orange as the daylight receded. She wiped her watery eyes with the back of her hand and kicked her feet until Hans knelt beside her.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Hans put an arm over Ingrid's shoulder and squeezed.

"Blondie made a big stink about me and Hopper being _too friendly_." Hans nodded, he'd seen the mirrorcast too. "And, um, _Ingrid_ believes it," she said sadly, not comfortable enough to use Greta's real name when referring to her, just in case someone was listening yet again. "I told her it wasn't true, but she still didn't believe me." Ingrid sniffled and replaced her finished lollipop with a new one. "I don't even see why she's mad," Ingrid said with a pout, "Hopper's actually super nice."

"Maybe she's just worried," Hans said, "maybe she thinks that she's gonna loose you to a bunch of kids with crowns."

"But she's my best friend forever after! She wouldn't loose me to a _boy,_ even if I was dating him."

"Well, why don't you go tell her that," He suggested. Ingrid wrung her hands nervously. "Come on, I'll go with you if you want." Ingrid sighed.

"Okay." She pulled her legs out from between the pillars and stood up beside Greta's older brother. Looking at Hans, Ingrid couldn't help wanting an older brother like him. She wrapped her arms around him and squeezed tightly. "You're the best big brother ever." Hans chuckled and hugged her back.

"C'mon, let's go sort this out."


	7. Chapter 7

**AN: Sorry I haven't updated in a while, I'm kinda stuck on the next chapter and I was getting a really good response to Punky's Log all of a sudden.**

* * *

Greta stared hatefully at her mirror phone. Why did she have to watch Blondie's stupid show? She had already been mad enough as it was, and she knew better than to doubt her friend. When she heard the knocking at her door, she quickly rushed to it in hopes that it was Ingrid on the other side. She was profoundly disappointed when it was merely a freckled fool of a prince instead.

"Oh, what do _you_ want, frog legs?" Hopper looked taken aback, and Greta rolled her eyes.

"Um, can I talk to Greta?" Hopper looked like he was waiting for Greta to attack him. She scoffed. _You already are, buddy._

"No," Greta said sarcastically, "she's busy in a stew pot," she said sarcastically, barely suppressing a snarl. Her fists clenched as she tried to re-convince herself that _no_, he wasn't in any way romantically involved with Ingrid, no matter how eager this little_ fly-eating, swamp-breathed, snot-nosed little prince _was to _get into her room!_

As Greta made to slam the door, the prince grabbed it and forced it open, surprising Greta into letting it go. _Wait,_ she thought, wa_sn't this kid a wuss_ _before?_

"Whoa, the hex are you _doing_?" Greta quickly recovered from her shock as Hopper glanced about the room. "Get out, you freaky little toad!"

"What did you do to her," the frog prince demanded. "You're her villain, aren't you?!" Greta felt her blood boil at his accusation.

"I'm sorry, _what?_"

"You _just said_ she was in a stew pot! Don't think I don't know what you're gonna try and do once you sign the book!" Greta laughed bitterly.

"I knew I was crazy to believe Blondie's little show," she said mockingly, "my bestie's definitely got better taste than anyone who'd like _you,_" Hopper's face drained of color as a sharp pain in his chest surprised him with her words.

"Well, I hope now that there are so many _other_ options," he said, beginning shakily but quickly growing venomous, "she'll be able to find a better 'bestie' than some wretched witch who enjoys baking and eating anyone kind enough to visit her ugly self!" Furious, Greta's hand flew back as she readied to slap the prince. Suddenly, both of the fairy tales were shoved away from each other.

"That is enough out of the both of you!" Between them stood Ingrid, tears streaming down her cheeks as her shoulders shook. She looked to Hopper first, who was looking worriedly at her sobbing face. "I think you should go," she said brokenly. He nodded quietly, and after he passed Hans on his way to the door, he turned back.

"I just came by to say... I'm sorry about Blondie's video. I didn't know she was going to do that. If I had-"

"I know," Ingrid cut him off without turning to him, and he shut the door once he was out of the room. Greta couldn't help a slight victorious feeling in her heart, after all, Hopper was sent away and not her. The feeling quickly left when she saw Ingrid slump dejectedly onto her bed. Ingrid stared helplessly up at her friend. "What was that?" Her voice cracked, and Greta hid her eyes under her orange and black hair in shame.

"I'm sorry, Ingrid, I-"

"Then go tell him that."

"Hey, he started it! He barged in here saying-"

"I know what he said," Ingrid said, becoming less sad and more angry. "What I want to know is why you reacted like you did." Greta stared mutely at her infuriated friend.

"He just kept accusing me of doing something...of _hurting _you, I-" Greta stopped and stared at her friend, realizing that everything he had said was meant for the witch in her story. "I'm sorry." Ingrid nodded dejectedly and turned away from the rest of the room.

"Goodnight." Greta sighed and turned to her brother, who was still standing silently by the door. He opened the door, and gestured for her to follow. Once they were out in the hallway, Hans pulled his sister into a hug.

"I fairy-failed," Greta said simply.

"Don't I know it," her brother said. He pulled away enough to look her in the eyes. "Look, I get that Hopper was out of line, but you need to be the better person and at least try to make up with him." Greta turned away, reluctant. "Hey, do it for Ingrid, alright? He's usually a pretty hexcellent guy, so just try, okay?" Greta nodded.

"I'll talk to him in the morning."

"Good." He re-embraced his sister. "Goodnight." She smiled sadly.

"Yeah." When Greta entered her room, she saw that Ingrid's green dress, green striped stockings and her ruffled white shirt - her favorite outfit - was neatly placed inside the young witch's hamper. Her friend's eyes were tightly screwed shut as she clung to an old stuffed toy. "Goodnight, Ingrid."

Meanwhile, Hopper had made it back to the room he shared with Daring, only to get lectured about his behavior.

"Did all of the chivalry classes teach you _nothing_?!" Hopper stared guiltily down at his hands.

"No, but I-"

"No, no 'but's! _You_ have just _royally_ fairy-failed!" Hopper shot up off of his bed, tired of being lectured.

"Well don't _you_ ever worry about Apple rooming with Raven?!" Daring's eyes widened, and Hopper wondered momentarily what he'd said wrong.

"That's _different_ Hopper," Daring said slowly, as if talking to a child, "Greta's not the heroine of your story." Hopper blushed.

"Well that doesn't matter, she's still my friend. Aren't I allowed to worry about my friends?"

"She's my friend too, Hopper. We're allowed to worry all we want, but their story hasn't begun yet. And even when it does, we can't throw the witch in the oven for our friends. Ashlynn can't prick her finger for Briar, Briar can't bite the apple for Apple," Daring paused for effect, "and Greta can't break the curse for you. That's not how stories work." Hopper slumped back onto his bed, defeated. "You should go apologize to Ingrid in the morning," Daring said as he went into the bathroom to begin his nightly skincare routine. Hopper flopped back on his bed.

"Yeah, I will."

* * *

**AN: Oh jeeze. I know there was pretty much no precedent for Hopper going off at 'Ingrid', but I promise, it gets (kinda) explained later. I'm not that terrible a writer, I promise!**

**Also, just saw the new episode of Ever After High. Poor Dex goes so hard over Raven...I know that feeling brother, I really do.**


	8. Chapter 8

As Greta went to the Castleteria for breakfast, Ingrid stayed behind. Glancing over at her, it was clear to Greta her friend wasn't sleeping. She just didn't want to deal with anyone. The more Greta thought about it, the less she could blame her. As she searched the enormous room for the frog prince, Hans walked up beside her.

"Make nice," he reminded her in a voice oozing _I know better_ that only siblings use.

"I know," she hissed. Across the room, Hopper and Daring were by the buffet, placing breakfast items on their trays. When Daring spotted 'Ingrid', he tapped Hopper on the shoulder and pointed her out.

"Time to go make nice, Hopper." Hopper nodded, but glanced curiously at Daring as he too exited the line of students grabbing food.

"Wait, where are you going?" Daring turned back to Hopper and subtly pointed out Blondie Lockes.

"To go have a word with Blondie, of course." Hopper watched as his roommate's charmingly persuasive mask slid on over an almost dark determination. He shuddered, glad that his fairytale didn't really require him to charm anyone the way Daring's did. Hopper turned to go find 'Ingrid', only to come face-to-face with the girl who had already found him.

"Oh! Um, h-hello-"

"Look," she began, cutting him off, "I dunno why, but Greta likes you. She was really upset by our fight yesterday, so I'm here to offer a truce." He nodded. "I...I'm sorry I said she had better taste than to ever like you," she said with noticeable difficulty.

"I'm sorry I said you were an ugly witch," Hopper said, rubbing the back of his neck nervously, "you're actually really pret-"

"_Oh _no," she said sharply. "If you finish that sentence, I'm gonna make you into frog legs for my lunch." Hopper stared at her, alarmed and speechless with fear as he turned into a frog. She chuckled. "Okay, I can _almost _understand why that would be endearing. I'm not kissing you, though." Hopper nodded.

"Understood, my lady." With a quick bow, the frog prince left for the table he and the Charming brothers shared. Dexter had been sitting down at the table throughout Hopper's conversation with 'Ingrid', but once his friend had turned into a frog, Dexter made sure to grab his friend's tray without interrupting his conversation. It was easy, he was fairly certain he was the most unnoticeable prince in the school. When Hopper finally made it to their table, he thanked Dexter for bringing his food.

"Transportation across such a vast space as this room can certainly conjure up an appetite." Dexter smiled at his friend's polite, froggy persona. _Even Hopper can get a girl,_ he thought. As the princes drowsily ate their breakfasts, Daring glided over to the table with a firm grip on Blondie's arm.

"Blondie," he said in a voice oozing shallow charm, "wouldn't you like to tell Hopper something?" Blondie nodded and turned guiltily to the frog prince.

"I'm sorry about my mirrorcast show yesterday," she said, pained. "I know that it was presented in a way that was just not right, and I'm fairy sorry I made your and Greta's friendship look like something it wasn't." Darin raised an eyebrow as he shot Blondie a sidelong look and she sighed, clearly not getting out of anything. "The truth is, I was just feeling really jealous of Greta because Apple seemed to like her so fairy much. I guess I just wanted to get her back for it, so I tried to make her look bad," Blondie trailed off into a mumble at the end and didn't look at Hopper. He sighed.

"While I do not appreciate that being the object of my affections was the tool best suited to bring shame to her, I believe that the target of your malice should be the first to be made amends with." Blondie nodded.

"Yeah, about that, do you know where she is? I haven't seen her yet."

"Maybe she's sitting with Ingrid," Dexter said.

"No, I checked her usual table first, and Greta wasn't there." She sighed. "Well, I'd best go look for her."

"Oh, and you'll issue an apology on your show, won't you Blondie," Daring asked with a superficial veil of politeness.

"I will, Daring!" Blondie smiled and blushed at the prince as she rushed off to search for 'Greta'. Dexter shook his head, he never did like it when his brother used his looks like that.

"So what about you, Hopper," Daring asked, "When are _you _planning to apologize to Greta?" The frog stared guiltily down at his pancakes.

"As soon as I am ambulatory once again." Daring nodded his approval and silently began his breakfast. Halfway through breakfast, Maddie drifted past the princes' lunch table and kissed Hopper without a word. When she sat down next to Raven, she had a clever smirk on her face.

As promised, Hopper abandoned his breakfast as soon as he was human again and found his way to the girls' dorms. He figured that if someone would miss breakfast entirely, they most likely had slept in. As he climbed up the spiraling stairs of the dorm tower, he spotted Blondie walking down.

"What'd she say?" Hopper looked pleadingly at Blondie, hopeful that she would give him some idea of what to expect from 'Greta'. The confused looking blonde turned to Hopper.

"She said...she said she was sorry that she'd upset me," Blondie said disbelievingly, "and that she forgave me for the video, so long as you did."

"What? Isn't she mad at me?" Blondie tapped her chin.

"Why would she be mad at you?" Hopper smiled. _Maybe she wasn't mad at all,_ he thought, _or at least, not anymore._ He rushed up the stairs, then turned partway back to Blondie.

"I'll tell you later." He ran up a few more steps, then turned a serious expression on her. "_If_ you promise not to make it a mirror cast." She nodded, and watched amusedly as he ran up the spiraling stairs. As Blondie removed her last video from her mirrorcast site, she shook her head.

"I was just _so _right about them."


	9. Chapter 9

As Hopper approached Greta and Ingrid's room, his anxiety quickly returned. His jog up the stairs slowed to a stop outside the dorm room, and he knocked gingerly at the door. When no one answered, he sighed. _I know she's there,_ he thought, _maybe she's really mad_.

"Greta?" No response. "Look, I know you're in there. I saw Blondie on my way up here. I just... I know I said I was sorry yesterday about Blondie's mirror cast, but I didn't say anything about my fight with Ingrid." He took a deep breath and waited for a response. When none came, he continued. "I just want you to know, we made up. Well, sorta. We called a truce, because both of us care about you. We apologized to each other and everything! So now the only thing left to do, is apologize to you." There was a sigh from inside the dorm room.

"The door's not locked." Hopper opened it and walked into the dark room. Even with the lights all turned off, there was still sunlight pouring through the curtained windows and dimly illuminating the room. On a twin bed on the righthand side of the room, 'Greta' was bundled petulantly in thick blankets, a lollipop in her mouth and a worn teddy bear clutched to her chest. Hopper couldn't help smiling lopsidedly at the stuffed toy, which 'Greta' tried to covertly hide under her blankets. Hopper crouched down by the head of her bed so that he was at eye level with her.

"I'm sorry about getting into a fight with your best friend forever-after. I'm sorry I called her names and I'm sorry I upset you."

"I forgive you." Hopper's face lit up with a smile, which 'Greta' returned. "Now, how much time is left for breakfast?"

"I dunno, I think maybe twenty minutes?" She nodded and began untangling herself from what quickly began to look to Hopper like an endless cocoon of blankets. When she finally got out of them, she stood in front of her bed in yellow fleece pajamas decorated with cartoon frogs. Each frog had a wide smile, red cheeks and a little gold crown. Hopper snickered, and 'Greta' looked down at her clothes in embarrassment.

"My dad got me these a year ago, _okay? _I didn't even know you then," she grumbled. "Now turn around, I have to change." Hopper felt his cheeks fire up and escaped from the room as 'Greta' laughed. When she left her room, she was wearing green striped stockings and fingerless gloves, a green skirt with a black lace edge and a white blouse with the same. She caught Hopper staring and smiled shyly.

"What is it? Do I look okay?" Hopper stuttered and blushed until turning into his amphibious form with a _poof!_

"You look lovely, my fair friend," he replied as she picked him up and cradled him in the palms of her hands. "I'm pleased you have chosen to continue calling me your friend." She smiled and kissed his cheek.

"I am, too." She grabbed his hand and pulled him down the stairs. "Now let's hurry, before they run out of food!"

When they arrived at the Castleteria, there was still a seemingly endless supply of food. 'Greta' ran immediately for the muffins, and Hopper found his tray of breakfast at the princes' table, still fairly warm. Dexter and Daring smiled up at their friend along with Cupid, who had sat down while Hopper was away.

"So I take it your apology went well?" Cupid had her fingers crossed under the table for the frog prince and Ingrid to have gotten together, even though she knew it would give Daring heart palpitations. Hopper looked fondly over his shoulder at Ingrid as she cried out for the blueberry muffins to 'come to mama'.

"Yeah, it did." Hopper pointedly ignored the wary look Daring gave him as he sat down.

After breakfast, the fairytale students reported to their first period classes. For Ingrid, this was Beast Training and Care. As she sat down at the edge of the Enchanted Forrest with her classmates, she caught several of them stealing quick sidelong glances at her. She shifted in her seat uncomfortably until the teacher called all of their attention.

"Today, we will be merging with the Environmental Magic class and tour the Enchanted Forrest's swamp habitats." There was a collective groan from most of the students. "This will be the first habitat out of several we will be exploring, so I suggest that you all dress for the trek for the next few weeks." In front of Greta, Ashlynn Ella whispered to the boy next to her, Hunter Huntsman.

"I guess it doesn't matter if I'm late or not," she said, "my clothes will still be a wreck by the end of the hour." Hunter leaned in closer.

"You'll still look beautiful either way." Ashlynn giggled, and Ingrid blushed, feeling as if she was intruding.

"After viewing each of the different types of scenery in the forrest, you will split off into groups of four or five and do a group project on the flora and fauna of the area you've chosen." Once the original Poppa Bear finished explaining their assignment to his first period class, they were joined by the first period Environmental Magic class. "You can form groups now if you would like, or wait until you have chosen a habitat to do your project on." Quickly, each fairytale found their friends and formed a group. As Ingrid searched for a familiar face she felt someone tap her on the back. She turned to see Hopper behind her and smiled.

"So, would you mind being my group member," he asked with a shrug.

"Not at all! Now we just have to find two more people... Are either of the Charmings in your Environmental Magic class?" Hopper frowned at that briefly, he had hoped that he was her favorite out of her princely friends, but perhaps he was mistaken.

"Yeah, Daring is, but he's probably in Apple's-" Hopper trailed off as Apple, Briar and Ashlynn walked up. Hopper's stare zeroed in on Briar, which annoyed Ingrid to no end for some reason.

"Hey Greta, would you like to join us?" Ashlynn smiled at Ingrid, who hadn't realized that the green-eyed princess even knew her name. _Oh right,_ she thought, _Blondie's video. Even __though she took it down, people still saw it._

"Um, can Hopper join too? I've already promised to be his partner." Ingrid grabbed Hopper's arm, making him blush and Apple and Briar look at her strangely. Ashlynn only smiled.

"Um, _ew,_" Briar said, making Hopper droop like a starving plant. The three princesses walked away, their arms linked together. Ingrid turned to the backs of the princesses and, after making sure no one was watching, flipped off Briar's retreating figure.

"_Rude._" She wrapped her hand around Hopper's arm and squeezed lightly. "C'mon, lets find someone else to be in our group. They'd probably have just made us do all the work anyways." Hopper smiled, his head still down. Regardless, Ingrid saw it as a success. Beside Ingrid, a wide smile materialized, followed by two turquoise cat eyes and a face.

"I'll be in your group," said Kitty Cheshire in her usual sing-song voice. Hopper eyed her warily, but Ingrid smiled.

"Alright, now we just need one or two more," Ingrid looked around the entrance of the Forrest as Kitty continued to materialize.

"How about those two," Kitty asked as she pointed to Daring and Cerise Hood, who stood alone closer to the trees. Ingrid shrugged.

"Let's go ask." She squeezed Hopper's arm again, and the three of them made their way to Daring. "Hey Daring, would you like to join our group?" Daring glanced suspiciously at Ingrid's hand, still holding onto Hopper.

"I'd be happy to, Greta."

"Great, now we just have to ask Cerise." Kitty's smile widened suspiciously, but none of her group members noticed.

"Hey, how come you're not in Apple's group, Daring?" Daring sighed dramatically.

"She's still upset over the..._incident_."

"What incident?"

"Well, before you got here, Raven Queen _ruined_ Legacy Day by refusing to sign the book," Hopper said lowly. After the initial shock, most students avoided talking about that day.

"But that's not what I mean," Daring said, "Apple's upset with me because I..." The prince trailed off at the end.

"'Because you' what?"

"She's mad because he complemented someone else's Legacy Day dress before hers," Hopper said with amusement. "That's why he's been banished to me and Dex's table." Ingrid snorted.

"Seriously?"

"Hey, that's a big deal for princesses," Hopper exclaimed, on the verge of laughing as he turned back to Daring and said mockingly, "'have all the chivalry classes taught you nothing'?"

"Princesses are _weird_," Ingrid said, with a strange mixture of amusement and bitterness.

"Yeah," Hopper replied, without noticing her venom. Behind them, Kitty floated over Daring's left shoulder.

"_Well_, aren't they _chummy._" Daring's eyes narrowed, but he didn't reply. The group stopped in front of Cerise, who still had no group, because Cedar and her other friends had been commandeered by others.

"Hey, Cerise, would you mind joining our group?" She looked over the curious group, paying extra notice to Kitty and Daring.

"Yeah, alright."

* * *

**AN: What a weird group... remember, there is ALWAYS a ****porpoise. :3 Do you see it? Tell me if you think you do with a review!**


End file.
